Word Ways was, in a real sense, founded by Martin Gardner, who in 1967 suggested to Greenwood Publications that they sponsor journals on recreational mathematics and recreational linguistics.

In the first issue of Word Ways in February 1968, Dimitri Borgmann said that the journal "has been created to provide a forum for all people interested in word puzzles and in other recreational aspects of language, a meeting ground for active minds comparable to the many books, magazines, and columns devoted to mathematical recreations...it is the first and only periodical of its kind."

Eckler adds:

When I became editor, I sought to explore the limits of the new field of logology...a surprisingly diverse field of inquiry, with outer limits still ill-defined, encompassing such novel concepts as eodermdromes, word worms, symmetric single-crash word groups, and self-descriptive number names (using letter-scores based on scrambled alphabets). I encourage a mixture of hard-core logology and lighter, more frivolous fare.

The current editor fully endorses Eckler's ideas. We continue to solicit all novel word play, in puzzles or expository articles. Computer generated materials (lists, searches, etc.) are most welcome. We especially want articles on word magic.